From his roof perch, Prince Nuada looked down with delight at the chaos below. A great many of the accursed humans' transportation vehicles, they called cars, lay upended and smashed and in the upheaval of the street surface.
He watched the crowd of people screaming and running for their lives through the wreckage as they tried to escape the flailing huge branches of the forest god. "They will remember this," he thought with vindictive pleasure.
His bubble of happiness was, however, short lived as he watched the forest god incredibly diminishing in size, before his very eyes! He saw the woman standing behind the god with her palms pressed firmly to its side, her eyes closed in concentration. The god shrank down until it was once again a green seed, and taken into the hand of the woman. It was the most mystifying act of magic he had ever encountered. Humans were incapable of such feats. Even his own kind would need to delve into the darkest of dark arts to manage something like that.
He watched his sister being ushered by the fish creature into one of the enemy's trucks. Nuada decided at that very moment to reserve a special hatred for that creature who dared to touch his sister's hand. He looked back at the strange female, who had removed her coat and weapon and was now looking back in distress toward the demon's team. Then she turned away, and fled the scene.
He decided to track her down and learn the source of her powers. He could go after his sister, later. He knew that he would always find her, no matter where she might hide. Black and silent as a shadow, he leapt across the rooftops of buildings to follow the woman. Once farther away from the chaos, she hailed a taxi. He continued to follow, even as she departed by car.
The woman got out of the taxi in front of a large house. She sat down on a set of steps and fumbled among the dead potted plants until she found a key. Standing up, she unlocked the front door and went inside.
Nuada didn't immediately go after her. Instead, he stepped into the barren garden and surveyed the area with the intent to learn as much as possible about his strange new enemy, before facing her head on. He knelt on the ground and stretched out with his mind to sense if there were any fae nearby. A couple of curious gnomes popped their heads up from the ground under the dead rose bushes. They looked like brown muddy potatoes with thin arms and legs.
"I am Prince Nuada Silverlance, son of King Balor and I come in peace, my friends," he called out to them softly.
One gnome approached him with caution. He nodded encouragement and stretched out his hand. It finally came near enough to touch his boots, and Nuada said, "Hello, little one." Two others followed. Nuada gave them his genuine smile, and the gnomes were mesmerised by his elvish beauty in the dark moonlit night. "I seek information about the people who live in this house," he told them. "Can you tell me?"
The gnome who had approached him first, volunteered to answer. "It is Mistress Bruttenholm who lives here, now. The year before this, her father Master Bruttenholm had also lived here. No one else."
The name of 'Bruttenholm' rekindled his memory, as this was also the name of the human associated with the discovery of the third crown piece. Is that why the woman was present near the auction room on the day of his attack? Back then, she had seemed as puny and pathetic as the rest of her kind, and it hadn't taken more than a blow to the head, to bring her down.
Nuada stood up and looked again toward the house. It appeared as a mere human's dwelling, and a light could be seen in one upper floor window.
"Can you get me inside, my friends?" he requested. The gnomes responded with a high-pitched sound which humans were unable to hear. Soon, a little two-headed creature came into sight. It looked up at the prince and made a silly bow. Nuada maintained an impassive face, though he wanted to laugh. To the creature, the gnomes explained that Nuada wished entry to the house.
Nuada gave a further instruction. "As discreetly as possible."
The little one bobbed its two heads and made its way into the house. Nuada waited patiently, noting the position of the lighted window, which had now gone dark. The creature returned after some time, handed a key to him and pointed to the front door.
Thank you, my friends." Nuada slightly inclined his head, and the little creatures bowed again and again and twittered their delight at having been able to help the prince.
Nuada unlocked the door and entered. Though it was dark inside, his eyes made out shapes – and the large collection of books in the room. Slowly, he walked further into the house and located the staircase leading up. He climbed the stairs and silently made his way to search for her room.
One door was slightly ajar. He stood there, watching the silhouette of a woman sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. Her long hair curtained the sides of her face. She didn't seem to notice as he let himself in.
Nuada slipped his hand into the folds of his sash and took out a small pouch. From it, he poured a mound of powder into his hand, then approached very close to her. He loudly cleared his throat. The woman wrenched up her head at the startling sound, her eyes wide with surprise. At that instant, he blew the contents of his hand squarely into her face. She fell to her back before her expression could change to alarm. Nuada smirked at the human lying unconscious. She would be out for a few hours, which would give him time enough to decide what to with her.
He lifted her from the bed and put her over his shoulder. He was slightly relieved that the woman was fully covered in a loose pyjama and full-sleeved shirt. He was loathe to let a disgusting human's bare skin touch him. However, he could smell her and he was surprised by her scent which reminded him of the forests of old and fresh spring rain. Humans never smelled this way, he thought- something new that he added to his mental list of the curiosities he held for the strange woman.
Going outside, Nuada shut the door behind him. He listened and looked. The neighbourhood was dark; quiet, and he soundlessly walked away with the unconscious woman, about to take her to the nearest man-hole on the street.
Nuada found his way through the dark underground maze beneath the New York urban streets. The fae of the city had tunnelled the underground to build their nests and homes. Cloaked in heavy glamour and protected by charms, they lived concealed from human interference. On the rare occasions that a human did stumble upon their clandestine tunnels, its chances of escaping were nil – for there was no dearth of underground creatures that did not enjoy a feast of human flesh.
Nuada easily navigated the way to his underground lair, where he had spent the last quarter of the century. He had heard tales of a certain human archaeologist being engaged in research of Bethmoora, and in over seven centuries, this was the only lead he had found which related to the missing crown piece. His patience had borne fruit, for now he held two pieces of the original crown. It was only a matter of time until he claimed the final piece from his sister, and would at last, unleash the Golden Army holocaust upon all humans.
Nuada came to a particular wall of subway tunnel with a section broken out of it. He spoke an incantation and in a few moments, the break revealed a large metal door. Stroking the door's surface in a secret pattern, he then stood back as the door opened to reveal the inner chambers. He walked inside and laid the woman down on the hard, cold floor.
A grunt sounded from a corner of the room, and Nuada spun around to see his friend on the floor with his head bent, cradling his twisted and mangled metal hand. Nuada felt a pang of guilt for having neglected his one and only vassal. He had found Wink sprawled in the market place, the victim of a brawl. He had rushed there to help his friend, but had not gone to him. In that moment, he had seen and directly followed his fleeing sister. Now, he felt anxiety for his friend well up inside him. He quickly went over to the troll and knelt beside him. The sight of the damaged mechanical fist and Wink's lowered head quickly turned his anxiety to rage.
"Did the demon do this to you?" he asked, furious.
Wink nodded weakly. "This is not what pains me though, my Prince. I was rescued by a woman today- the same one we encountered at the museum."
"Explain,"Nuada commanded. In low grunts, Wink related the whole story.
Nuada thoughtfully looked over at the woman lying on the floor. He got up and dragged her * closer to Wink. He picked the head and turned it towards the light.
"Was it she?" he asked the troll. Wink's surprised grunt assented.
"What happened to her, Your Highness? Is she hurt?" Wink said ,moving closer to take a better look at her.
Nuada shook his head. "It is only gurdiroot powder. What sort of human would show this much compassion to one of our kind?
Wink thought the same, too. He dared not tell his prince that he had protected this woman from the tooth-faeries, and wondered to himself, why she had made him feel so protective towards her. However, he couldn't help but be glad of his interference. If not for her, he would have been ground to pieces and burnt in the furnace this night. He shuddered at the thought. Wink was considered a fearsome warrior in the fae world, but he harboured a soft heart. Sharing his prince's hatred for humanity, he yet could never bring himself to harm their infants. Over the centuries, he had ignored human spawn lost in the woods and cities rather than make meals of them, as many of the other trolls preferred to do. He was the vassal of Prince Nuada Silverlance, and he would not dishonour himself by acting against his nature, which was to harm nothing unless it harmed or threatened him.
Wink felt uncomfortable in the presence of this woman. She had saved his life and he owed her a debt of honour, but he doubted the prince would share his sentiments. He wondered why she was still alive after being so long in the prince's presence.
"If I may, Your Highness, why have you brought her here?" Wink asked.
Nuada gave his account of the evening. "I am curious to discover what other powers she might possess. I must know if there are others like her in the human armies, of which we need to be aware. I wish to ask Romeran's opinion of her, too. It has been a long night. Now, rest my friend".
Nuada proceeded to remove his armour, preparing for his night's slumber. With his boots off, he went to the inner chambers to sleep. The woman, he left to snooze on the floor.
Wink felt uneasy to see her like that. He looked around to find something that would make his saviour and the prince's captive a little more comfortable. There were rugs and blankets in the prince's chamber, but Wink didn't dare bestow these on the woman. After long minutes of rummaging, he found a tattered mat among the kitchen rags. It covered the woman partially. This was the best he could do for the moment. He would sneak something better for her tomorrow from the market, he thought. With that, he lumbered away to rest himself.
...
Author's note: I want to introduce my beta reader, Flint and Feather. She has an amazing knowledge of the Hellboy universe and I am absolutely grateful for her reviews and suggestions about the stuff I am writing.
Reviews are much wanted (and begged for). It helps me write the chapters faster, if I know that people are liking it
I like thanking my reviewers through PM but I can't get in touch with you heather schmidt...so if you're reading this chapter, thank you!